Low carbon industries worth almost £11bn

For onshore wind, Scotland accounts for 46.2 per cent of all UK employment and 57.2 per cent of all UK turnover.

Published:11:30Tuesday 29 November 2016

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Low carbon industries in Scotland generated £10.7 billion in turnover and supported 43,500 jobs in 2014, according to news figures.

This accounts for 12.9 per cent of the total UK turnover and 9.7 per cent of the total employment in the sector – both higher than Scotland’s share of the population, reinforcing the importance of the low carbon industries to the Scottish economy.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures on the low carbon and renewable energy economy in the UK for 2014, the latest year that figures are available, show that:-

• For onshore wind, Scotland has 46.2 per cent of all UK employment and 57.2 per cent of all UK turnover.

• Supply chain activity accounted for £5.1 billion, or 47.7 per cent, of total turnover and 21,500, or 49.4 per cent of jobs, higher than England (46.2 per cent) and Wales (45.7 per cent). Supply chain activity was marginally higher in Northern Ireland (50 per cent)

• In low carbon electricity generation, Scotland has 18 per cent of all UK employment and 23.6 per cent of all UK turnover in this sector

• For low carbon heat, Scotland represents 16.0% of all UK employment and 14.9% of all UK turnover in this sector.

Paul Wheelhouse Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, welcomed the figures which he said reinforce the growing importance of the low carbon industries to the Scottish economy.

He continued: “The Scottish Government strongly supports development of renewable energy and provisional energy statistics show that renewable energy sources accounted for more than 56.7 per cent of gross electricity consumption in Scotland in 2015.

“In welcoming these figures, however, we must remember recent UK Government decisions that continue to create serious uncertainty across the sector. Delays in announcing which technologies will be supported in the next round of auctions that support the renewable energy sector, for example, are putting at risk existing investments made, and jobs created, in developing renewable energy projects.

“Today’s figures underline both the huge opportunity that decarbonising our energy system presents, as well as the critical importance of continuing to support the sector properly – encouraging investment, generating value, and creating jobs across Scotland.”